We’re more than three decades into the AIDS epidemic, and though an HIV diagnosis is no longer seen as a death sentence, the disease is still taking a toll, particularly in the South and especially in communities of color. In a recent HIV Surveillance Report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data from state and local health departments tracking the rate of new HIV infections across the country in 2011. These are the 25 cities and major metropolitan areas across the United States (and its territories) with the highest rates of new infections.
Did your city make this HIV hot spot list?
- MiamiÂ
- New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner, Louisiana
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Jackson, Mississippi
- Washington, D.C. (includes Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia suburbs)
- Baltimore–Towson, Maryland
- Memphis, Tennessee (includes Mississippi and Arkansas suburbs)
- Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Marietta, Georgia
- New York City (includes New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania suburbs)
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Orlando, Florida
- Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, Texas
- San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
- Charlotte–Gastonia–Concord, North Carolina–South Carolina
- Columbia, South Carolina
- Dallas
- Birmingham–Hoover, Alabama
- Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater, Florida
- Los Angeles
- Greensboro–High Point, North Carolina
- San Francisco
- Charleston–North Charleston, South Carolina
- Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, Virginia
- Philadelphia (includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland suburbs)
- Richmond, Virginia
June 27 is National HIV Testing Day. Even if you don’t live in an HIV hot spot, you should know your status.
